Compared to recent surge of sci-fi series, Minority Report is looking more refined with clearly better production. However, this doesn’t have the same thrilling spirit from Tom Cruise’s action thriller. The precognition concept has been reduced to typical paranormal investigation.

If you’re not familiar with the source, or understandably forget the story, the show opens with brief narrative about the movie. In near future authority used precog system by plugging three siblings into a machine, a mix between psychic and technology to determine crime before it happened. Unfortunately, Tom Cruise proved that it had flaws and the project was scratched.
One of the siblings, Dash (Stark Sands) now leads a normal witness protection life, but he still has the clairvoyance gift. With the help of a female police officer Lara Vega (Meagan Good) he helps solve crime in a rather timid sci-fi crime drama. The cast is leaning towards light comedy than thriller, which is perhaps intentionally made to suit the series.
The problem is the two leads don’t mesh together well. Stark Sands has the quirky savant look, but he doesn’t possess the on-screen presence for a capable lead. Meagan Good is attractive for the lead female, but she’s an odd choice for tough female role. While she does look fit, it doesn’t translate to serious femme fatale personality. Its change to more humorous tone is different from the futuristic noir of the movie, it’s not bad and probably better to accommodate TV series. It does rely too much on casual cop spectacle, yet doesn’t really have the draw or chemistry. Not to mention the use of psychics is getting old, the foreshadowing gimmick feels like a puzzle played too many times.
The presentation is impeccable though. It’s obvious that the show invests a lot on making the world looks brightly inviting. The details for gadgetry, environment and investigation are splendid. This world definitely could work for foundation for TV series, although the narrative and characters are not as intriguing. It was originally given 13 episodes but shortened to 10 now that all 10 have aired it looks like this show was put to sleep.

It is the year 2054 and a team of 3 “pre cogs” (psychics) are sedated and sitting in a pool in Washington, DC. They see crimes before they happen, allowing the police force to see the images that they see and work to solve the crime from what images they are given. One of the heads of the pre-crime force is Chief John Anderton (Tom Cruise), a man who has understandably never recovered from the loss of his son a few years back.
It doesn’t take particularly long for the film’s main plot to kick in: the pre-cogs, thought to be never wrong, send down another report of a possible crime: unfortunately, the criminal in the vision looks to be Anderton himself, with the victim a man that he’s never met. Much of the remainder of the nearly 150 minute picture involves Anderton going on the run to find out if either the pre-cogs are wrong or if someone’s somehow set him up.

Spielberg’s visualization of the future is something incredible to behold and actually, far more enjoyable to be plunked down in than what’s presented usually in these kinds of films. The houses in this 2054 often look the same as they do now – however, most of the changes in technology – billboards that scan one’s eye to personally sell to them, highways that look like awfully smooth sailing in electronic cars – seem like possibilities.

The film’s visual effects are truly phenomenal, capturing things like the highways with seemingly hundreds of electric cars quite convincingly. Even smaller effects seemed seamless and crisply rendered. The effects are also used appropriately; this is not a film where effects come first and story second.

The performances are generally excellent. Cruise has always been a pretty good actor, Farrell (as a Government agent checking up on the pre-crime system), Max von Sydow (as head of the department) and others also offer fine support. The film’s screenplay (by Jon Cohen and Scott Frank) is also superb, with several thought-provoking twists and turns.